Week 7 Recap

Spartanburg 33 Dorman 30

The City Rivalry has been rather 1-sided lately with the Vikings having claimed each of the last 4 in the series. With region championship aspirations still alive, the Cavaliers made the trek to Viking Stadium looking to change that and remain unbeaten in region 2-5A play. This game was one in which both sides looked to be staring down an imminent victory. After falling down 7-0 early, the Vikings tallied 23 unanswered points. But, as has been the trend with the rivalry over the last half-decade, no lead is safe. Dorman stormed back to make it a 2 point game at the half, later to reclaim the lead with an 80 yard drive capped by an Isaac Tate 7 yard touchdown run to start the 2nd half.

After a Dorman fumble set the Vikings up in favorable field position, Spartanburg jumped back in front early in the 4th quarter on Trenton Lynch’s 4th touchdown run of the night – this one from a yard out. Four minutes later, Dorman kicker Ranson Farr nailed a 27 yard field goal to tie the game at 30. The Cavs had a chance to take the lead in the home stretch come up a little short, ending in a punt on 4th and 8 from the Spartanburg 43 that gave the Vikes the ball with time enough for a 2 minute drill. That punt set the stage for a drive and a moment that will live on in the Viking fans’ lore of the rivalry on par with the 1994 Hail Mary from Rodney Woodruff to Brian Wofford.

Trenton Lynch took the first play of the series for a gain of 33 into Dorman territory – notably within the nation’s number 1-ranked high school kicker Will Love’s range – and it came down to a 52-yard try with mere seconds left on the clock. Love boomed it through, perfectly splitting the uprights with enough leg to have been good from as far out as 60 yards to walk it off for Spartanburg’s fifth straight win in the series.

The Vikings were led by Lynch, who toted the rock 28 times for 177 yards and caught 3 passes for 56 to go with his 4 scores. Quarterback Trey Burke was 11 for 20 passing with 217 yards in addition to 37 rushing yards on 5 carries. Wideout Torrean Davis hauled in 4 of Burke’s passes for 102 yards to lead the aerial attack.

The Cavaliers’ QB Meek Slydell had a bit of a breakout game with running back Nick Means being held to just over 100 yards (101 on 17 rushing attempts). The Asheville transfer was 14 for 19 with 197 yards and a touchdown. Tre’gan Mickler and Daishin Watkins-Hymes tied for the team lead in receiving yards with 72 a piece on 10 combined catches. Means had the lone receiving score on his only catch – from 23 yards out. Isaac Tate added a pair of rushing scores on 4 carries for 18 yards while freshman Carter Nash had a 27 yard TD run in his only carry.

Dorman will look to bounce back next week in big fashion as they go on the road to face Wade Hampton. Spartanburg will go to Boiling Springs.

Gaffney 28 Byrnes 16

There was more than one big rivalry game played on week 7 as the Byrnes Rebels made the trip up 85 to the Reservation looking to throw a big wrench into the region 2-5A standings picture.

Things got off to about as ideal a start as possible to make that happen, as Byrnes jumped out to a 10-0 lead they carried into the 2nd quarter thanks to a 24 yard Zach Reinert field goal and a 70-yard touchdown catch and run by Chanin “Choo” Harris. That lead very quickly diminished as Gaffney scored 14 unanswered on a 32 yard TD run by former Chapman running back Justin Dawkins (his only carry of the game) and a bad snap over the head of the Byrnes punter that AJ Logan fell on in the endzone for a score to give the Indians a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way, outscoring the Rebels 14-6.

In the end it was turnovers that did Byrnes in, finishing -3 in the margin. The Indians were rather 1-dimensional offensively, rushing for 220 yards. Quarterback Banks Bouton accounted for 132 on 11 attempts with a touchdown. Josiah Hill added 67 and a score on 16 touches. Bouton was also 4 for 10 passing with 46 yards – his leading target being Quentis Hines with 1 catch for 22.

Byrnes will get a shot to get back in the win column next week as they take on Eastside at Nixon Field. Gaffney will host Riverside.

Boiling Springs 45 Wade Hampton 0

The Bulldogs bounced back from getting blanked by Dorman last week exactly in the way you might expect them to have against a weak opponent. With Shrine Bowl defensive back Jeremiah Favorite back, the Dogs held the Generals to just 39 yards of total offense. On the other side of the coin, Boiling Springs amassed 432 yards. Imri Logan’s arm accounted for 249 of those on 13 of 17 passing with 2 touchdowns. He also ran for 29 and a score. Grayson Crowe hauled in 5 passes for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns while running back Kyron Tobler toted the rock 15 times for 70 of the Bulldogs’ 176 rushing yards with a score.

The Bulldogs will be back home next week, potentially seeing another hole in their secondary filled with the return of DB Tyvion Hall against the Spartanburg Vikings.

Greer 61 Blue Ridge 21

The Highway 14 Rivalry renewed! A much-resurgent Blue Ridge hosted the Yellow Jackets who were looking for their fourth straight win as well as their 4th straight region 2-4A triumph. The Tigers and Jackets went back and forth early on with Greer holding a 21-14 lead after the opening 12 minutes. They went on to score the next 27 to build a 47-14 advantage that was beyond more than enough to put the game away.

It is noteworthy that once again QB Dawson Fowler did not play for the Yellow Jackets. Instead, Xavier Sammet started, leading the way with 11 completions on 16 passing attempts for 177 yards and a touchdown to go with 99 yards and a score on 11 rushes. Tailback Calvin McCoy was explosive, leading the ground game with 245 yards and 3 touchdowns. Zy Foster also scored 3 times with 153 yards on 18 touches. Chase Free accounted for the lone other TD on the ground with 3 carries for 19 yards. Tucker Hudson had the only receiving TD on the night with 3 catches for 33 yards, but the leading pass catcher was Zay Moseley with 3 snags for 71 yards. Tyler Hanson also had over 50 receiving yards, pulling down 4 passes for 56 yards.

Things take a tough turn schedule-wise for Greer as they wrap up the regular season with Seneca and Daniel back to back. They will face the Bobcats on the road this coming Friday night before wrapping up at home vs Daniel the following week.

In the 3A ranks, MVP defeated Chapman 50-7 to stay unbeaten and set up a date for the region title next week on the road against Woodruff, who was on a bye this week.

Broome 42 Union 0

This game was all Broome from the get-go, which frankly was the read on how this one would likely go. The Centurions tallied 335 yards of total offense that was as perfectly balanced as it could be. They hung 167 passing yards and 168 on the ground. Quarterback Jameson Dearybury completed 10 of 16 passes with 3 touchdowns. The bulk of those came on 2 big plays to Brayden Simpson – who led the way with 83 yards and a touchdown. Jordan Ramirez and Devo Brown had a TD reception each. Tyqwon Booker led the run game with 16 carries for 115 yards and a pair of scores. Jaylan Ramirez added a defensive score with a pick 6.

Broome will be on a bye next week before hosting MVP and going to Chapman over the final 2 weeks of the regular season.

Clinton 50 Chesnee 29

Could this have been for the region title? Quite possibly. But unfortunately for the Eagles, home field advantage was not enough to overcome the always-potent Clinton run game.

Evan Reece Lawter did dual threat things running for just shy of 100 yards (98) on 20 carries with a touchdown. He also went 9 for 25 passing with 132 yards and a score. Blake Cochran had another strong night, accumulating 91 yards on 10 touches. Kale Thrift had 63 and a touchdown on 12 attempts while Marquez Franklin tallied 53 yards on 4 rushes. Braylon Blanton hauled in 5 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown as the only receiver over 50 yards.

Chesnee will make their final road trip of the regular season next week as they head to Liberty.

Blacksburg 14 Landrum 6

In the biggest shock of the night, the Wildcats broke into the win column at long last this season with a road win. Landrum, like Boiling Springs, got a much-needed return from injury in the form of AJ Lindsey. The Cardinals struggled to stop the run and wrap up tackles in this game while also not capitalizing on turnovers. They were down 14-0 heading to the 4th quarter, finally finding the endzone for the one and only time in the game on a long 4th down run from QB Ty Foster.

The Cardinals now find themselves in a very tight spot to try and make the playoffs this season, having to face Clinton, Liberty, and Chesnee back to back to back over the final 3 weeks.